New Zealand have their one foot in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 following a comfortable victory over Ireland at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Put in to bat first, the Black Caps managed to post 185/6 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to skipper Kane Williamson who led from the front, smashing a remarkable half-century. Williamson scored 61 off 35 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes before Joshua Little dismissed him in the penultimate over.

Apart from Williamson, Finn Allen (32), Devon Conway (28), and Daryl Mitchell (31 no) chipped in with notable contributions. Little, who removed Williamson, went on to pick two more scalps in consecutive deliveries to bag a hat-trick.

In reply, the Irish team could only reach 150/9 in 20 overs, losing the contest by 35 runs. Opener Paul Stirling top scored? with 37 off 27 ??deliveries, including three four and a maximum.

For the Black Caps, Lockie Ferguson bagged three wickets for 22 in his quota of 4 overs. Similarly, the spin duo of Mitchell Santner (2/26) and Ish Sodhi (2/31) picked up two scalps each, while Tim Southee (2/29) also took a couple of wickets.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

Kane Williamson becomes New Zealand's leading run scorer in Men's T20 World Cup.

Most runs:
643* – Kane Williamson
637 – Brendon McCullum
617 – Martin Guptill
562 – Ross Taylor#T20WorldCup #NZvIRE

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) November 4, 2022

Kharismatic Kane Mama! 🧡

Hitting 🔝 form towards the business end of the Super 12 group stages 🙌#NZvIRE #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/ayLcr1nsVw

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) November 4, 2022

Domination continues for New ??Zealand, 3rd win from 4 games in the T20 World Cup 2022.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 4, 2022

Skipper Kane Williamson named Player of the Match at @TheAdelaideOval after his 61 from 35 balls against @cricketireland. #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Xm7U8L7HKn

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 4, 2022

Moment to savour for Josh Little who announced himself last year at the T20 World Cup to a wider audience. And now, has shown that his good reviews were not misplaced! #Hattrick

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 4, 2022

I would like to thank all of Kane Willia??mson’s critics for ba??iting him into an innings of 61(35).

A repeat dos??e in the coming few days would be wel??come.

— Michael Appleton (@michelappleton) November 4, 2022

Hopefully this means we never have to talk about Kane Williamson’s SR ever again. #NZvIRE

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) November 4, 2022

JOSH LITTLE, HUGE HAT-TRICK yew 🔥 #NZvIRE #T20WorldCup

— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) November 4, 2022

New Zealand 🔥 #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/APxZWd9CKD

— betvisa68.com (@CricketTimesHQ) November 4, 2022

NZ were well on their way to?? a score of over 200, but Josh Little put a stop to that with his 3-22 ☘️

NZ end on 185-6 with captain Kane, top-scoring with 61#T20WorldCup #NZvIRE pic.twitter.com/HdY0TdGtPD

— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) November 4, 2022

Always feels special when one of your favourite players play such knock especially during his bad patch
Well played Kane Williamson 🤎#NZvIRE#T20WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/X0CVAUI8Ik

— 🐐 (@FOREVER_VK_FAN) November 4, 2022

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Ireland pacer Joshua Little etched his name in record books as he picked up a sensational hat-trick in the T20 Wor??ld Cup 2022 clash against N?ew Zealand at Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Little is the second Irish bowler to take a hat trick after Curtis Campher. The left-armer accomplished the feat by dismissing Black Caps captain Kane Williamson, all-rounder James Neesham, and Mitchell Santner in the penultimate over of New Zealand’s innings.

Notably, Little is the second bowler after the UAE’s Karthik Meiyappan to r?egister a hat-trick in the ongoing multi-team tournament.

Here is how the hat-trick took place:

• 18.2: Little to Williamson, a short delivery pulled by the batter but failed to get the desired distance and was caught by a fielder at deep backward square leg.
• 18.3: Little to Neesham, a quick delivery which straightened up. Neesham tried to slog that away on the leg side but missed it and was dismissed leg before wicket.
• 18.4: Little to Santner, another length ball that skids on and hits the pads. The batter did go for the review, but the replay showed three reds as Little recorded a brilliant hat trick.

Here is the video:

Second Hat-trick of ICC world T20 2022 pic.twitter.com/YI88UQnjzI

— Aatika Noor Aatika Noor (@AatikaNoorAati1) November 4, 2022

Williamson, who was the first victim of Little, went all guns blazing, scoring 61 off just 34 balls helping New Zealand post 185/6 in their allotted 20 overs. The Black Caps skipper smashed five fours and three sixes in his comeback knock. Apart from Williamson, Finn Allen and Daryl Mitchell chipped in with valuable contributions of 32 and 31, respe??ctively??.

Little finished his quota of 4 overs with three wickets while conceding 22 runs. Spinner Gareth Delany also shined with the ball for the Irish side, taking a couple of wickets for 30 runs in 4 overs. Mark Adair picked up one scalp while giving away 39 runs.

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New Zealand and Ireland will face each other in Match 37 of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 at Adelaide Oval on Friday, November 04.

A win in this game will take New Zealand to the top o??f Group 1. If they win by a solitary run, England would have to win by approximately 95 runs and Australia by approximately 150 runs to overtake Black Caps on Net Run Rate.

For Ireland, t??hey not only have to beat New?? Zealand by approximately 105 runs to pip them on NRR and hope Afghanistan beat Australia later in the day.

Pitch and Weather report:

The track at Adelaide Oval is reckoned to be the best batting wicket in Australia, and fans can expect a high-?scoring contest. The weather is expected to be pleasant, with no rain forecast.

Probable XIs:

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Ka??ne Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, J??ames Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Ish Sodhi

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Lorcan Tucker (wk), Harry Tector, Curtis Campher,?? George Dockrell, Gar??eth Delany, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand, Barry McCarthy, Joshua Little

Recent form:

Ireland: LWLWW (Last five completed matches; most recent first)
New Zealand: LWWLW

What they said:

“You sort of do go through different periods where there’s better rhythm and then other times where you’re working harder, and you’re trying to make sure that you’re making a valuable contribution. The game forever challenges us, tests us, and we try and work hard and navigate and improve,” said New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson ahead of the match.

“We bowled well, but a couple of overs didn’t go our way, but to show the fight at the end was nice,” Irish skipper Andy Balbirnie had said after Australia’s game.

Stats corner:

• Kane Williamson needs 46 runs to become his country’s highest run-getter in T20 World Cups.
• Joshua Little is the leading T20I wicket-taker among seam bowlers in 2022, having 36 scalps, one more than India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

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